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Matt Plant

Better than a Free Lunch

How do you feel when someone gives you a free lunch? It’s great, and yet, at the same time you may respond back saying that you will buy next time. It’s hard for us to receive a free lunch. Most of the time we feel an obligation to pay someone back.


This is why the Gospel is so hard to understand. The Gospel is given to us as a free gift. As the Apostle Paul writes:


8 You are saved by God’s grace because of your faith. This salvation is God’s gift. It’s not something you possessed. 9 It’s not something you did that you can be proud of. 10 Instead, we are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives. (Ephesians 2, CEB)


There is a reason for this. God doesn’t want us to think for a minute that we can pay Him back. If we think we can pay God back, then we might think we have earned His forgiveness. We might even think we deserve it.


We could never do enough good to pay God back. Thankfully, Jesus gave His life to pay our debt.


Now, does this mean we can do whatever we want? No, it doesn’t. Paul also speaks to this:


So what are we going to say? Should we continue sinning so grace will multiply? 2 Absolutely not! All of us died to sin. How can we still live in it? 3 Or don’t you know that all who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore, we were buried together with him through baptism into his death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too can walk in newness of life. (Romans 6, CEB)


Do you hear what Paul is saying? It makes no sense for us to live lives of sin because that is no longer who we are. When we trust our lives in the work of Christ, we are made new!


So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived! (2 Corinthians 5:17, CEB)


Your sins are forgiven and you are made holy and righteous! The Gospel says we go forth and live lives pleasing God because that is who He made us to be. It’s His gift to you.


We were once far away from God, but thankfully He brings us to Him, making us part of His family. We were once seen as sinners, God’s enemies, and yet, through the work of Jesus Christ, we are made holy and righteous!


It’s grace. It’s love. It’s God’s gift to you!


Blessings,

Pastor Matt


PS - Please click here to view the Events page on our website for upcoming dates/times for the Community Easter Egg Hunt and Holy Week services.

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